"Paper or Plastic"?

Question

Do you Bring Your Own Bag such as cloth or canvas, when you shop at the grocery store? Or do you reuse your old bags at the grocery store? Some stores will give you a refund of at least 5 cents per bag when you reuse.

Earth Day — April 22nd, 2008

Answer 1

I always bring my own canvas bags to the grocery store, but they only refund me 3 cents per bag when they remember to do it.  I don't do it for a 3 cent refund though, I do it for the sake of conservation and not being needlessly wasteful.

Answer 2

I bring my own. If I don't have my own at the time I split even... plastic bags I reuse to empty my cat litter, paper i use to put my recyclables in then just put it in with the recycling when done.

Answer 3

Sometimes we bring ones we have sometimes we don't. When we don't we request paper. It is made from recycled paper and can be recycled over and over.

Plastic, uh not so much.

Answer 4

I use canvas bags as much as possible. If we don't have enough, we try to get paper-then we re-use it for trash or picking up after the dogs, or we tear it up and add it to our compost heap.

Answer 5

This is a interesting thing...and I have watched programmes on this they say most of the rubbish pulled out of the sea is plastic....but really why dont they go back to the old recycled paper bag....and cartons or glass bottles for milk....I always have said technology is great but its killing us..I just wish people could see this.....paper also is a natural fibre....you know living in morocco at the moment and they use a lot of white paper and newspaper for a lot of things but plastic bags have been introduced so there everywhere its a bit of shame...considering ......it just makes me angry this is just one issue its not that there are other alternatives .....and the governments could do something you know when children abuse there toys what happens....they get taken away...well why cant the government think this way in all things...I mean its our future where talking about here....and well being for our children and enviroment....anyway good to know someone finds the enviroment important to.....

Answer 6

I bring a canvas bag

Answer 7

We are using the Green Bag and love them!

--They hold about 4x what a little plastic bag can hold.

--They stay upright for easy loading

--They don't break (no more dropped spaghetti sauce)

--They have a plastic bottom flat insert (washable)

--The bags don't discolor, remain wet or mildew

--The handles are strong/convenient, carry or shoulder use

--Obviously, no unsightly litter and animals don't choke on them

--Saves trees

Answer 8

There already talks going on about removing plastic bags from stores because they pose a higher risk to the environment then paper bags.

Answer 9

i tend to bring my own bags when ever i can... 1million plastic bags are use every second globably and it's time for that to stop.

Answer 10

I always bring my own reusable bags to the grocery store.  They sold them for $0.99 each and they are rated to hold up to 50 lbs.!!  We use them for everything!!  I also have a small sized backpack that I carry when we're shopping at other stores and that way I can just toss my purchases in there rather than needing a shopping bag from that store. Even though we don't get our groceries put in  plastic bags they do still accumulate, a friend sends you home with something and puts it in a plastic bag for you etc.  One thing that my mother in law has taught me is that thrift stores can't afford to buy specialized printed bags while keeping their costs low and they are more than happy to take the plastic bags, this way the bags are being reused AT LEAST one more time before they have to be recycled.  Taking the bag back to the store is better than being put into the landfill for sure.  But we have to try and find ways of REUSING them first, in their current state before the energy is used to recycle them!

PS

My Grandmother had a large collection several years ago of the blue Wal Mart plastic bags.  She crocheted them into hats and handbags and sold them at a retirees arts and craft fair!  It takes just the right person to turn something into a treasure for someone else!

Answer 11

I love cloth bags.

I created a petition to ban plastic bags from grocery stores in Atlantic Canada.

Answer 12

I have always tried to bring a canvas bag when I can remember. Some larger grocery stores will sell you canvas bags for a cheap price or let you recycle paper bags directly to them like my parents do. The best thing I find is to just keep a couple canvas bags in my car just in case and if I do forget them I get plastic and use those instead of trash bags at home or as a lunch bag. There are other ways of recycling then just putting waste in a box for someone else to take care of.